The present invention is related to scales used for weighing animals such as cattle as they move along a chute.
It is very helpful for a rancher to control feeding by maintaining proper growth rate charts on his animals. It is also beneficial to keep a chart on each animal as means for keeping track of health conditions and maturity. Consequently it is necessary to periodically weigh the animals.
The typical livestock scale includes a weight "beam" supporting a floating deck. The animals are directed onto the deck which will move both vertically and horizontally under the weight of the animal. Cattle become easily frightened when they are unsure of their footing and movement of the platform generally upsets the animal. Therefore, time must be spent in calming the animal before an accurate weight measurement can be recorded. One of the difficulties, then, is the inability for conventional forms of animal scales to quickly weight moving animals.
The prior forms of animal scales include the weight sensing mechanisms directly below the weighing platform. The usually sensitive mechanism is therefore exposed to extremely adverse environmental conditions and must be continuously and carefully cleaned. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the scales varies with the ground terrain upon which the scales rest. Uneven terrain will result in inaccurate weight recordings. It is always preferable to have these scales on a perfectly flat, horizontal surface. Otherwise, the weighing platform of the scale will meet resistance in downward movement and inaccurately display animal weight.
It becomes desirable, from the above situations, to obtain some form of animal weighing scale that will accurately and relatively instantaneously weigh a moving animal. This becomes a particularly desirable feature when many animals are to be weighed in a short period of time.
It is also desirable to obtain some form of scale that will weigh animals over a wide weight range to enable weighing of both young and mature animals.
It is also desirable to obtain some form of animal scale that is totally portable and that may be set up on relatively uneven terrain.
It is also desirable to obtain such a scale that includes its weight sensing mechanism above the animal receiving platform and therefore avoid the adverse environment beneath the platform.